Monday, September 26, 2005
Take Action: Catholic Action



Take a stand for the Faith! Be a solder for Christ! Click here to see the action items that you can take as a Catholic.
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Book Reviews


'"A willow tree,' says Pope St. Gregory the Great, 'bears no fruit, but by supporting as it does the vine together with its grapes, it makes these its own by supporting what is not its own.' In like manner, he who warmly recommends a book calculated to do much good makes his own all the good that is done by the book" (Father Michael Mueller in The Holy Sacrifice of the Mass)

My Reviews:
Books contrary to the Holy Faith:
Let me know if these book reviews help you out. I've done book reviews for readers before. If you are a convert and seeking book recommendations, see this post.
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Saints


General Info:
Recommended Meditation on the Catholic Liturgical Year:
Those in the Process for Beatification:
Questions:
Blesseds (Not a complete list):
Saints (Not a complete list):
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Prayer


Information:

Prayer
Five Types of Prayer
Conditions for Prayer

Divine Office:

Divinum Officium
Little Office of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Various Prayers:

Anima Christi
Morning Offering
St. Michael the Archangel Prayer
A Prayer of Praise
3 o'clock Mercy Prayer
Angelus
Regina Coeli
A prayer for reparation for those that don't love Jesus
A prayer to venerate any saint
Prayer before & after Mass
Prayer for Students by St. Thomas
Prayer before the Blessed Sacrament
Prayer to Our Lord Jesus, Crucified
A Prayer before Praying
Prayer before a crucifix
Prayer to the Holy Cross
Prayers for Lent
Prayer for Accepting God's Will
Prayer for the Cronically Ill
Evening Prayer by St. Alphonsus Liguori
The Praises of God Most High by St. Francis of Assisi
Prayer to Jesus in the Holy Sacrament of the Altar
Prayer for Peace
Prayer to live a life of prayer
Holy Trinity Prayer
Prayer to the Glorious Cross
Prayer for those that hurt us
Prayers for the deceased
A Prayer for Priests
Prayer for the Poor by Blessed Mother Teresa
Daily Offering to the Sacred Heart of Jesus for the dying
Prayer of the Chalice
The 15 prayers of St. Bridget to honor Our Lord's passion
Prayer to Jesus in the Tabernacle
Prayer for a deceased priest
Prayer to follow the Good Shepherd
Prayer for Faith in the Risen Lord
Prayer to Jesus Crucified
Prayer before examinations
Prayer for the sick
Prayer for the Forgotten Soul
The Angel's Prayer at Fatima
A Prayer for November
Litany of the Most Precious Blood of Jesus
Prayers in Times of Inclement Weather 
Litany of the Saints in Latin (chanted) 
Prayer Against Blasphemy by Pope Pius XII 
Morning Offering for all who have left the Church 
Prayer for the Conversion of American Protestants
Prayer for the Conversion of the Jews
Prayer for the Conversion of the Anglicans
Prayers for the Salvation of All Men
Servite Rosary Chaplet
Act of Reparation for Blasphemies Uttered Against the Holy Name of Jesus

Marian Prayers:

Prayer for Mary's Intercession by St. Francis
A Prayer to Jesus and Mary for the Holy Souls in purgatory
An Eternal Alliance with Mary
The Rosary
Dedication of oneself to the Blessed Virgin Mary
Prayer of Devotion to Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal
A Prayer for the Month of May
Litany to the Immaculate Heart of Mary 
Prayer to Mary, our Queen 
Prayer of Reparation for Insults to the Blessed Virgin Mary
Chaplet of the Seven Sorrows of Mary
Consecration to Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception

Novenas:

Novena to the Holy Family
Novena to the Magi
Novena for Christian Unity
Novena for the Assumption of Mary
Novena to the Immaculate Heart of Mary
Novena to Our Lady of Sorrows
Novena to Our Lady of Lourdes
St. Andrew's Christmas Novena
Novena to St. John Bosco
Novena to Our Lady of Fatima
Novena to Our Mother of Perpetual Help
Election Day Novena
Novena to Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception
Novena for the Holy Souls
Novena to St. Anthony
Novena to the Holy Ghost (Pentecost Novena)
Novena to the Holy Ghost (Booklet)
Novena to the Infant of Prague
Novena to St. Patrick
Novena for the Annunciation
Novena to the Holy Face

Dealing with Saints/Sainthood:

Prayer to St. John Bosco
Blessing of Throats (St. Blase)
Unfailing prayer to St. Anthony of Padua
Prayer for the intercession of St. Padre Pio
Prayer to St. Monica
Prayer to St. Joseph 
Prayer to St. Vincent de Paul
(For more see the Feastdays Listing)

Dealing with Special Days or Circumstances:

Prayer for the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord
All Saints Day Prayer
Christmas & Advent Prayers
Prayer for Lent
Ash Wednesday Prayer
Good Friday Prayer
Stational Churches of Lent
Ascension Thursday Prayer
Prayers for Pentecost
Labor Day Prayers
St. Joseph Feastday Prayers
Prayer for the Election of a Holy Pope
Candlemas Prayers
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Mary, the Mother of God


In the Catholic faith, we honor Mary as the Mother of God. We do not worship her, but we pray that through her intercession we may become closer to her Son, Our Lord, Jesus Christ. This goes back to the Communion of the Saints. Above all, we know that Mary is not just the Mother of God but also our mother as well because Jesus gave her to us:
"When Jesus, therefore, saw His mother, and the disciple whom He loved standing nearby, He said to His mother, "Woman, behold, your son!" Then He said to the disciple, "Behold, your mother!" And from that hour the disciple took her into his own household" (John 19:26-27)

St. Albert the Great wrote: "Immediately next to being God is being the Mother of God." She held a unique role in salvation's history. Jesus Christ redeemed us, but Mary remains the Mother of Jesus and our spiritual mother. She is not equal to God but rather the most glorious person created by God because of her humility, trust in God, and above all, her Immaculate Conception.

Canon Francis Ripley writes in This is the Faith: "Because of the inexpressible dignity that is hers, the Catholic Church has from the beginning given Mary the highest form of honor below that reserved for God alone. The Church's practice has always reflected her belief that, provided Mary is not adored (which is the unique honor given to God alone), she cannot be honored to excess."

Various articles of mine on Mary:
There are five traditional Catholic beliefs about Mary:
  1. That she is the Mother of God;
  2. That she was Ever-Virgin;
  3. That she was immaculately conceived (remained sinless too);
  4. That she was assumed into Heaven and crowned Queen of Heaven and Earth;
  5. That she is Mediatrix of all Graces, Co-Redemptrix and Advocate for the People of God.
Numbers 1-4 inclusive have all been defined as infallible and must be believed. Number 5 has not been made a dogma of the faith. It is not a required belief of the Church.

Marian Prayers:
  1. Prayer for Mary's Intercession by St. Francis
  2. A Prayer to Jesus and Mary for the Holy Souls in purgatory
  3. An Eternal Alliance with Mary
  4. Dedication of oneself to the Blessed Virgin Mary
  5. Prayer of Devotion to Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal
"The Virgin Mother has no greater wish than to see her divine Son obeyed, loved, glorified, and exalted" (Blessed Columba Marmion)
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Some Apologetic Posts

Apologetics is the defense of the Catholic faith. Here is a list of some of my posts. If you are non-Catholic and would like more information than posted on this website, much more information on the basics of Catholicism can be found at Fish Eaters.

And for great Catholic book recommendations - including a list of sites with free Traditional Catholic Books - please visit my page: Catholic Book Recommendations

Various:
Liturgical Issues:
Responding to Modern Concerns:
Recommended Catholic Books:
The Sacraments:
The Blessed Virgin Mary:
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My Catholic.com

I just found a new and, I'd say, brilliant website called My Catholic.com, which is a customizable Catholic homepage. You can upload blogs to it and read not only news but Mass readings, some saintly writings, see the weather, and many other great features. Please check it out and tell me what you think of it.

And, if you'd like to upload my blog's content by clicking on the "content" tab then just enter my site's feed url into the space that asks for it. Here's my blog's url feed:

http://acatholiclife.blogspot.com/atom.xml
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A List of the Popes of the Holy Catholic Church

Pope Pius XII"The Lord made Simon alone, whom he named Peter, the 'rock' of his Church. He gave him the keys of his Church and instituted him shepherd of the whole flock. 'The office of binding and loosing which was given to Peter was also assigned to the college of apostles united to its head.' This pastoral office of Peter and the other apostles belongs to the Church's very foundation and is continued by the bishops under the primacy of the Pope." (CCC 881)

The following is the list of Popes:

(More Updates coming in the future)

Image Source: Believed to be in the Public Domain

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The Christian Faith in Two Words


"Jesus and love"

Pope Benedict XVI recently announced this, but there should be no debate or arguing among Christians on this one. Jesus Christ, Our God and Savior, is truly the aspiration of our souls - He is the brightest perfection of all good (mercy, truth, love, hope, etc). And through love of Our Lord we reach a different level of love. A level that embraces people of all colors, nationalities, faiths, and the like. We reach a form of love that cries to Heaven, "Let your will not mine be done." And, most importantly through this love of Jesus Christ and the Cross we grow closer to God by not only loving Him but loving our fellow man as well; "Amen I say to you, as long as you did it to one of these my least brethren, you did it to me" (Matthew 25:40).

So, today let's try to put Jesus Christ first in our lives, who is with us constantly in the Blessed Sacrament and looking down to guide us. He is with us; let us be with Him in praise and love. Without love we are nothing but with God, the God of Love, we are everything.

Let us live our lives in Christ's memory and for His glory keeping His Words to mind, "This is my commandment, that you love one another, as I have loved you" (John 15:12). Above all, The Cross is the great summary of both words - the Love of Christ is infinite. Our love can never be infinite for one another, but we must aspire to reach it as close as possible.
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Sunday, September 25, 2005
Patron Saint of Internet Users

If you are looking for a prayer to say when you log on the Internet through the intercession of the patron saint of Internet users then I'm happy to say I found one. The patron saint of Internet users is Saint Isidore (c.560 - 636), and I especially like this prayer since I hope all of my online writings do help others in spirituality and faith.

Image Source: In the Public Domain (Wikipedia)
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